The St. Louis zone, which includes eastern Missouri and southern Illinois, had an average unemployment rate of 5.2 percent in the third quarter. That’s the lowest it’s been since the second quarter of 2007.

With U.S. Steel set to start idling operations in Granite City next week, some Metro East leaders are calling on federal lawmakers to take a tougher stance on overseas steel producers selling on the U.S. market at unfairly low prices.

Developer Paul McKee will not be among the landowners taken to court by the city of St. Louis in an effort to lure a federal agency to the north side.

The Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority reached a deal with McKee’s company, Northside Regeneration, this week. That includes the option to buy more than 300 parcels of McKee’s land within the proposed site of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

Sustainable, Responsible and Impact (SRI) financial investments are becoming more common among both public and private investors.

Madaket Growth, LLC, a St. Louis-based investment company, is capitalizing on that trend. Founder Christopher Desloge said they’re now starting the first SRI investment fund for qualified investors in St. Louis. (Those investors earn more than $200,000 a year and have assets of at least $1 million, excluding their home.)

Updated Friday, Dec. 11, 5 p.m. Developers say that construction is complete on the Arcade Apartments. Construction crews wrapped up their work last week and the first residents have moved in.

Jeff Huggett, a developer at Dominuim, says more than 100 of the apartments have been reserved. In a statement, he says the Arcade Building project is the largest apartment renovation in St. Louis in decades.

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The Arcade Building in downtown St. Louis is set to reopen in December for the first time since it closed in 1978.

This past June, 33 Veterans Court Technology Clinic students and supporters watched as seven of their colleagues took part in the clinic’s first formal graduation ceremony. The clinic is part of a special drug court in St. Louis that provides an alternative to incarceration for veterans. It provides job skills for participants in the program.

Security guards at the Callaway nuclear power plant near Fulton warn they could go on strike if they don’t reach a contract agreement with Ameren Missouri.

The United Government Security Officers of America Local 11 represents 91 security officers at Missouri’s only nuclear power plant. They’ve been on a month-to-month contract since rejecting an agreement with Ameren Missouri in July.

The coal industry continues to adjust to economic realities. Peabody Energy has announced a deal to sell assets in Colorado and New Mexico, while Arch Coal is suggesting that a bankruptcy filing may be in order. Tracking the sector can be a challenge, so we have put together a snapshot of some major players and their ties to the St. Louis region.

Some St. Louis County library patrons may soon have to temporarily switch branches. The library system is in the process of opening or re-opening six locations while closing another five for renovations.

When the Starbucks in Ferguson opens in the spring, it will be more than a new coffee place.

Getting a Starbucks is a big deal for the small city that saw several businesses go up in flames in the aftermath of Michael Brown’s death in 2014.

"There’s probably that belief in some people’s minds that people would be hesitant to make an investment along West Florissant or an investment in north county," said Ferguson Mayor James Knowles. "The fact that Starbucks has stepped up to do that, we’re very excited and very appreciative."

Updated 1:45 p.m., Nov. 16 with revised Illinois proposal - Metro East officials are sweetening their offer to attract a federal spy agency and its roughly 3,000 workers. St. Clair County officials said Monday that they are adding 200 acres to its proposal for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

St. Louis area banks are becoming more accessible to low-income and minority neighborhoods. That’s according to a new report released by the St. Louis Equal Housing and Community Reinvestment Alliance.

In a survey of 23 banks, the alliance found that St. Louis banks have added at least seven branches in low-income or minority neighborhoods in the past three years. The banks have also made at least $2.4 billion in development loans and investments since 2012, earmarked for people and communities that don’t have much money.

Eleven more startups are receiving Arch Grants Thursday. In exchange for locating in St. Louis, the businesses will receive $50,000 and a year of support in areas ranging from accounting to marketing.

Some companies receiving the grants are already located in St. Louis, such as the recent Washington University and Saint Louis University graduates behind Chrona Sleep. Other companies are relocating, including two international companies.

Anheuser-Busch InBev has put forth a formal offer to takeover rival brewer SABMiller. The announcement follows word last month that the companies had an agreement in principle on a deal worth more than $100 billion.

In an effort to clear regulatory hurdles in the U.S., Molson Coors will buy out SABMiller's interest in a joint venture. That means A-B InBev, which brews Budweiser, will not own SABMiller's U.S. business or the global rights to the Miller brand.

Officials broke ground Tuesday for a project that could spark an economic revitalization in the Carondolet area of south St. Louis. River City Business Park, just north of River City Casino is a 54-acre property on the site of the former Carondolet Coke plant.

Updated 1:33 p.m., Feb. 16 with rejection of protest - Boeing is considering its options following the denial of a protest over the military's decision to award a lucrative contract to a rival contractor. The U.S. Government Accountability Office says it has found no issues with the Air Force’s move to award the contract for the Long Range Strike Bomber to Northrop Grumman. Boeing's St. Louis-based Defense, Space & Security division still claims the Air Force's evaluation of the competing proposal was "fundamentally and irreparably flawed."

The engineering, manufacturing and development phase of the deal is estimated to be worth more than $20 billion